新西兰英语 16 Senior Doctors

　　A month ago, senior¹ doctors in New Zealand hospitals said they would go on strike at the end of March to get more pay. It now looks as though they will not go on strike after all. The Minister of Health, David Cunliffe, has worked hard in the last month to reach an agreement with senior doctors. He knows that doctors overseas² are paid much more. He managed to find more money and he hopes it will be enough to keep more senior doctors in New Zealand.
Most of the senior doctors are specialists³. They wanted a pay increase, more money for overtime⁴ work and more money for continuing medical education to keep them up to date with changes. Their union will take the agreement to the senior doctors next week to see if they are happy to accept the pay offer.
New Zealand has a problem keeping our doctors. More and more senior doctors are leaving for jobs in Australia where they are paid much more. But, Australia is also losing doctors to Canada and the US. Australia is keen⁵ to attract New Zealand doctors because they know we have excellent doctors here.
We also lose young doctors to overseas jobs, usually 3 or 4 years after they graduate. Again it is partly because they can earn more money overseas and this can help to pay back their student loans⁶ more quickly. They also want to have a wider experience by working in other countries. Many of these doctors will return to New Zealand in the future, we hope.
Meanwhile, we have many foreign doctors working here. In some smaller towns, nearly all the doctors in the hospital are from other countries. Some come here for a short time, maybe just a year, to get different experience. A year in New Zealand can be an adventure for people who enjoy the outdoors and many others enjoy living in a new country for a short time. Some of these doctors are very experienced⁷ so it is not all bad news to have so many foreign doctors here. However, we do have a shortage⁸ of specialists in some areas of medicine and in some areas of the country. This is a worry.

1 senior   

adj.年长的；资格较老的，地位较高的；n.年长者，前辈；大学高年级学生

参考例句：

• My brother is senior to me by two years.我哥哥比我年长两岁。
• They are senior students.他们是高年级学生。

2 overseas   

adj.海外的；adv.在海外

参考例句：

• Her man has been sent overseas by his employers.她的丈夫已被雇主派往海外。
• Many firms are focusing on increasing their markets overseas.许多商行都专注于扩大国外市场。

3 specialists   

n.专家，行家( specialist的名词复数 )；专科医生

参考例句：

• a course designed primarily for specialists 主要为专业人员开设的课程
• They are each recognized specialists in their respective fields. 他们在各自的领域都被视为专家。

4 overtime   

adj.超时的，加班的；adv.加班地

参考例句：

• They are working overtime to finish the work.为了完成任务他们正在加班加点地工作。
• He was paid for the overtime he worked.他领到了加班费。

5 keen   

adj.热心的；敏锐的；激烈的；锋利的

参考例句：

• There is keen competition between the two motorcar firms.两家汽车公司之间存在着激烈的竞争。
• The children are mad keen to go to the zoo.孩子们非常想去动物园。

6 loans   

n.借出物，借款( loan的名词复数 )v.借出，贷与（尤指钱）( loan的第三人称单数 )；出借（贵重物品给博物馆等）

参考例句：

• They are offering loans at extortionate rates of interest. 他们在放高利贷。
• Government loans have been the salvation of several shaky business companies. 政府的贷款救活了几家濒临倒闭的公司。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

7 experienced   

adj.有经验的；经验丰富的，熟练的

参考例句：

• Experienced seamen will advise you about sailing in this weather.有经验的海员会告诉你在这种天气下的航行情况。
• Perhaps you and I had better change over;you are more experienced.也许我们的工作还是对换一下好，你比我更有经验。

8 shortage   

n.缺少，缺乏，不足

参考例句：

• The city is suffering a desperate shortage of water.这个城市严重缺水。
• The heart of the problem is a shortage of funds.问题的关键是缺乏经费。